Symphony of Our Souls
by ghosttempest
Summary: Karkat Vantas was recently rescued after getting caught in a dirty politician's game, and he is coming back to school at the beginning of his senior year, where his boyfriend and all of his friends are waiting. As he gets caught in the crossfire yet again, he has to find a way to stay sane. Davekat-Human!stuck-A lot of mentions of Homestuck music. Rated M for possible future smut.
1. Chapter 1

The lights blinded him.

He fought the urge to raise his hand and shield his eyes, but he kept his arms at his sides. He hated everything that was going on around him. There were too many people pointing cameras at him and shoving microphones into his face. It was too much to take in after the weeks of darkness and virtual silence.

"Try to ignore them, darling," his aunt whispered in his ear. He didn't think she realized just how frustrated he was with the constant barrages of questions. She gently ushered him out away from the crowd and to their car. He numbly opened the passenger door, ignoring the people that followed him until he tried to close the door and one reporter held it open.

He glared up at the reporter, who insisted that he answer the question. Suddenly his aunt appeared and forcefully shut the door before angrily yelling at the reporters. Then she stormed to her side of the car and got in, quickly driving away before they could swarm the car. Once they got a fair distance away, she turned to him again.

"You know, it scares me when you don't talk. You're such a vocal person."

He said nothing.

She sighed. "Karkata…"

"Fine, I'll talk, Jesus…" he snapped. "God forbid I don't talk for long periods of time. And for the love of God, don't call me that."

She frowned. "Don't get snippy with me. You know better." When he looked away, she shook her head. "Your brother is waiting for you at home, along with some dinner."

"Ah, shit…"

"Language…" she warned.

He sighed and leaned his head on the window. "You and I both know he's not going to stop talking for the whole night if not the rest of the week…"

"Yes, I know." With that, she pulled into the driveway of her large home. When she got out, the door flew open and a young man stepped out. He had tan skin and dark brown hair, his brown eyes staring intently at the car. Karkat got out and sighed at the sight of his brother running out to them. When he gripped his shoulders, he winced.

"Karkat! You're home!"

"Yeah, Kankri..."

"Oh my gosh, I've been so worried! I was afraid you were dead! Oh Karkat, what did they do to you? Are you hurt? The authorities said that you were kidnapped by some sort of cartel-"

"Kankri…"

"-and you could've been killed! Oh, you must be so triggered, I can't believe this happened, I-"

"KANKRI!"

He stopped and looked at him, as if he had not expected the outburst. Karkat looked at him tiredly. "My head is killing me and I just want to go to bed… could you please not suddenly bombard me like this?"

His aunt started at him, surprised he had asked nicely. But Kankri conceded with a nod and let him go inside. She followed. "You want to eat something? I made chicken parmesan today."

Karkat was starving, but he ignored it. "I don't feel like eating, Aunt Dolores."

"Still trying to get out of eating, Karkat?"

He turned to see a pale, slender girl with short hair dyed green. He smiled weakly. "Kanaya…" She smiled and walked over to him before wrapping her arms around him. After a few seconds, she held him at arm's length. "You've lost weight… you really should eat."

"Kanaya-"

"No, you are eating. I spent forever on that food."

He sighed weakly, knowing that the last bit was a joke. "Alright…" He allowed himself to be ushered into the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

The sounds deafened him.

However, he didn't care.

His stereo was playing loudly as he focused on drawing his latest comic. He almost didn't hear his phone go off. Thank God he had it on vibrate and ring. He blinked and reached into his pocket, turning down his stereo with his other hand. "Yeah?"

"DAVE! DUDE, HAVE YOU WATCHED THE NEWS?!"

Dave jerked the phone away from his ear. "No, I haven't watched the news, Egderp. What's going on?" He continued to draw as he listened.

His pencil snapped. "What?" The pencil was tossed onto the desk. "John, this better not be one of your pranks-"

"It's not, just turn on your TV!"

Dave turned around and tapped the power button on his remote. The television came to life and the first thing he saw was a pale face, white hair, and bitter crimson eyes. It was in fact Karkat. He stared at the tv as reporters hounded Karkat and he scowled. Much to Dave's surprise, he was silent the whole time. The only one who fought back the nosy reporters was his aunt, who started shouting at one reporter who refused to let Karkat close the door.

"_The man who found and led rescue teams to Karkat Vantas was questioned as well and is hailed a hero to many citizens. He is referred to as "Bro" Strider-"_

"BRO!" He threw the remote on the bed and stormed out of his room. His brother was reading on the couch, probably some stupid manga or something. "We need to have a talk."

"Give me a minute-"

He was interrupted as the smuppet next to him was suddenly impaled and pinned to the wall by a well-aimed blade. Bro sighed and looked at him. "What?"

"You. You found him."

"You'll have to be more specific, kid."

"You FOUND Karkat and didn't tell me. Why didn't you tell me?"

"You know very well why I didn't. You would've went after him without me and got yourself killed." He set down his book and stood up, eyeing Dave intensely. "It was hard enough for me to see him the way he was. I can only imagine how you would've taken it."

Dave scowled. "You don't know-"

"Yes, I do!" Bro slammed his fist into the wall, showing a very rare display of true anger. "The person I found was not your boyfriend… it was a victim almost too long gone to save. He was broken and barely grasping any sort of comprehension or SANITY. It wasn't until we managed to convince him that he was safe did he really start to show. It's a miracle he's still himself. I know Karkat wouldn't have wanted you to see him like that."

Dave chewed on his lip before letting out a sigh. "Fine… can I at least-"

"You'll have to wait until he comes back to school. It may be a couple days, but Ms. Maryam and I discussed it and think he should have a few days to relax before his friends see him."

"This is bullshit-"

"Dave, just work with me here. If you go over there right now you're probably going to stress him out even more. Just wait like everyone else." He walked over and put a hand on Dave's shoulder. "You have to trust me on this, little man."

He frowned, but nodded silently.

"Good. Now, let's go get Dirk and order some pizza."


	3. Chapter 3

The alarm blared and Karkat groaned, lifting his head to look at the alarm clock. With a grunt, he slammed his hand on the sleep button, letting out a quiet string of curses. Then, he shifted in his bed and closed his eyes again. Not even a minute later, his door opened.

"Rise and shine, Karkat."

Karkat groaned again, a little louder. "Kanaya, get out…" Kanaya ignored him, instead opening his curtains with a flourish. He practically hissed and covered his eyes with his hand. "Really?!"

"You need to get up, Karkat. You have school today."

He sighed and conceded, not wanting to deal with Kanaya's more harsh side when he decides to ignore her. He threw his blanket off and got up, half-listening to what Kanaya was saying.

"I already have an outfit picked out for you so it'd be a bit easier to take your time. Coffee and breakfast is downstairs when you're done-"

"I'm not hungry."

Kanaya gave him a stern look. "You're not doing this again. You WILL be eating. Even if Mother and I have to shove it down your throat. Or should we get Kankri to give you another lecture?"

He growled. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Fine. Now can you leave so I can shower?"

She nodded, satisfied, and left in a flourish. Karkat sighed again and went into his bathroom.

Once he got out of the shower and downstairs, he nearly grimaced as he smelled the food. Kanaya greeted him with a plate of food and a cup of coffee, made just the way he liked. He thanked her quietly before sitting down and picking at his eggs.

"Karkata… I know you do not want to eat, but you should for your health…"

He nodded. "Yes, ma'am…" With that, he choked down a good part of his food before he had to stop. Any more food and he would be sick. They conceded, satisfied that he ate most of it.

"Come on, I'll drive you guys to school," Porrim told them, twirling her keys on her finger. She ushered the two out the door and into her car.

"Why do I feel like there's a reason you're driving us," Karkat accused, irritation on his features.

"Besides the fact the bus sucks? Because there might be reporters and other media vultures waiting to divebomb you at school. The principal said he'd meet us outside so we can… discuss things."

Karkat was too tired to argue and just decided to leave it alone. He leaned his head on the window and closed his eyes, wanting to sleep.

"Did you not get very much sleep last night?" Kanaya asked in concern.

"I didn't sleep last night. I only managed to rest my eyes fifteen minutes before the alarm went off."

Kanaya sighed, leaning back. "I could've gave you something to help you sleep-"

"Kanaya, you already do enough for me." Karkat looked at her very seriously. "You've done nothing but take care of me these past few days… and I thank you for that. Just… don't be stressing yourself out by taking care of me, okay?"

Kanaya blinked in surprise before smiling weakly. "Of course…" She kissed his cheek. "And no thanks are necessary."

Karkat's mouth twitched slightly at the end, curving upwards for a quick moment before going back to his tired frown. His eyes slid shut again as he leaned against the window.

* * *

Sure enough, when they got there, there were reporters sitting outside waiting. Porrim groaned in disgust before getting out. Kanaya did the same and opened the door for Karkat as Porrim tried to get the reporters away from him. A tall, pale man with pure white hair and a green suit walked through, clearing a path through the reporters and ushering them through. Karkat tensed near him, but kept his lips pursed as they made their way inside.

"Thank you Principal Scratch." Porrim shut the door with a final huff. "They just don't know when to leave people alone."

"No problem, my dear. If one of my students is being put in an uncomfortable situation, I'll make sure that the situation is dealt with immediately." He smiled at Karkat, but to Karkat it seemed fake. He didn't trust it, or Principal Scratch.

"I'll take you to your classes," Kanaya cut in. "We don't want to be late."

Scratch nodded and the two scooted off. Porrim left for her car.

Karkat messed with his collar, starting to feel fear creep into his chest. "What if the other kids laugh at me? Kanaya I can't take the bullying, not again…"

"If anyone even attempts to bully you, you can expect that your other friends and I will set them straight." She touched up her lipstick a bit as he got his books out of his locker. "Even if it means sending them to the hospital. Though I try not to do that anymore, Mother and Rose would both kill me."

"Heh, yeah. I don't think Aunt Dolores would like that too much after the last time."

They continued to chat for a bit, taking their time to get to class, to try and calm Karkat's nerves. Once they got to his classroom door, she kissed him on the cheek and bid him good luck. "I'll come by to get you when class is over."

"Kanaya, I'm not five… I can make it to my next class on my own…" He chewed on his lip a little. "But thanks…"

"Of course." And with that, she hurried off. Karkat let out a deep breath and lifted a shaky hand.

Then, he knocked.


	4. Chapter 4

Scribbles covered his rather empty set of notes, trying to keep his mind off the thoughts that pervaded his mind. His imagination was getting the better of him, and pictures of Karkat, battered, bruised and terrified, clouded his thinking.

The door opened, but he didn't look up. His teacher's voice cut off for a moment before addressing the class. "Students, I'd like to welcome back a student of ours."

His pencil stilled for a moment.

"Karkat Vantas is here with us today."

His eyes shot up and he lowered his sunglasses to get a better look. Then, he shot out of his desk and shoved to the front of the class. Crimson eyes stared at him in surprise, slight fear, and then suddenly, immeasurable relief.

"D-Dave-"

Dave didn't let him finish. He cupped his face in his hands and kissed him passionately. Whistling and catcalls, accompanied by the groan of the teacher, filled the classroom. Unbeknownst to them, someone pulled out their phone and was recording them. When he pulled away, Karkat stared at him.

Karkat was just close enough to see Dave's eyes. He was relieved and focused only on him.

"Kitkat…"

That did it. His eyes filled with tears and he sobbed when Dave uttered his nickname. Dave pulled him into a tight hug, petting his hair and shushing him gently.

"If you two would like, you can step out for a few moments. But I'd like to continue the lesson."

Dave didn't need to be told twice. He wrapped an arm around Karkat's shoulders and ushered him outside, going straight to the bathroom.

"S-Strider-" He nearly yelped as Dave gently pushed him against a wall and kissed him again, just as passionately as before. Karkat kissed back, gripping Dave's jacket so hard his hands were shaking. The space was closed between them as Dave wrapped his arms around Karkat's waist. They pulled apart slightly and Dave lifted his chin.

"Karkat… Karkat, babe, what happened?"

He chewed on his lip hard, unsure if he wanted to talk about it. Dave frowned and gently pulled his lip out between his teeth. "None of that. If you don't want to talk about it, we can talk about it later… but Kankri said that you were kidnapped and…" He sighed, not wanting to finish.

"…And tortured."

Dave clenched his fists, causing Karkat to flinch slightly. "Yes… that…" Then he noticed him flinch and pulled away slowly. "Sorry."

He nodded. "It's okay." He pulled his sleeves further over his arms. Dave caught it and gently grabbed his hand, pulling his sleeve up. Karkat swallowed hard, ready to panic. There was a long silence.

"Take your sweater off."

"Strider-"

"Take. It. Off." Dave was trying to restrain himself for Karkat's sake.

Karkat set his jaw but said nothing as he pulled his sweater off. He nearly flinched as Dave sucked in air as he tried not to flip out. As he had seen on Karkat's arm, there were words carved into his skin all over his body. They were hateful, cruel slurs, the biggest one going across his chest. It said, in jagged letters, "WHORE."

"Those sons of bitches."

"Strider-"

"I'll fucking kill them all."

"Strid-"

"I'm going to shove my sword-"

"DAVE!" Karkat started to cry again, sobs escaping him and mangling his words.

Seeing those tears stopped him. "Oh… Kitkat… I'm sorry…" He hugged him again. "I'm sorry…" Karkat cried into his chest, gripping his shirt, but Dave ignored his shirt slowly getting soaked. "It's okay… everything's okay…"

It took a long time, but he eventually calmed down. Dave wiped the last tear from his face. "Want to go back to class?" he asked as he handed him his sweater. Karkat gingerly put it on and nodded. Dave wrapped his arm around Karkat's waist and ushered him back to class.

* * *

Dave never left his side. At certain points, he even had to stop other people from getting too close too quick so that they wouldn't scare Karkat. He realized he had to do this was when John greeted them, and he nearly tackled Karkat in a hug. Karkat let out a shriek, scaring John and a few others around them. Dave managed to calm him down, but John learned to move slowly with his hands out where Karkat could see them. With Rose, she knew right off the bat how to act around him. Jade had to be warned as well, being as energetic if not more than John.

Karkat gingerly greeted all of his friends. What angered him was how touchy people were being, like he had a terminal illness. It was either that or they were way too energetic for his liking. When John came at him, he had a flashback that lasted only a moment, but it was enough to send him into a panic. He felt like an idiot afterward. John was his friend for fuck's sake. He wasn't going to hurt him. Once lunch came around, Dave insisted they went out for lunch. Not wanting to fight, he conceded quickly.

When they made their way to a very familiar café, there was someone waiting for them.

"Is that… Meenah?" Karkat gave a faint smile.

Dave was glad to see him give a smile. "Yep. She called me up and she was so eager to see you were okay that she made plans at your favorite café." He gave a quick smile before parking. Meenah came over and knocked on Karkat's window, grinning largely.

"Vantas!"

"Meenah, it's great to see you!" He got out of the car and Meenah pulled him into a hug.

"Haha, it's good to sea ya too, shouty." She grinned and ruffled his hair. Meenah was significantly taller than Karkat and slightly taller than Dave, standing at a little over six feet tall, so she practically towered over the smaller teen. "Come on, I ordered the usual, help ya get used to normal life again."

Dave dipped his head in greeting to her and she did the same. "Strider."

"Meenah. Shall we?" He opened the door to the café.

"Thanks, coolkid." She grinned and ushered Karkat inside. Dave followed soon after.

"So how've ya been, shouty? I saw ya on the news but I haven't seen ya since before… well, ya know. I will say that I'm sorry about yer dad. He was a cool guy."

"Thanks…" He sighed.

"I went to his funeral. You'd be surprised how many people were there."

He blinked. "Really?"

"Reel-y."

"Wow…" He looked surprised. "I… don't understand."

"Yer dad was super cool to the people of this city. A lot of people liked him." She sat him down before sitting down at the edge of the booth table. Dave slipped into the other seat. "Yer buoyfrond here wouldn't stop pesterin' me for news. When I saw ya on the tv, I called your buoy here and made plans."

Karkat stared at the food. When Dave gave him a nod of encouragement, he shook his head weakly. "No… no no no, you're not doing this."

"I'm not hungry."

"You're stomach was growling the whole way, don't bullshit me." Dave frowned at him, his patience surprisingly short compared to his usual cool demeanor. Karkat squirmed in his seat, a bit uncomfortable.

Meenah noticed the tension and quickly intervened. "Whoa, whoa… there's no need to freak out, buoys. Now Vantas…" She leaned forward a bit and looked at Karkat, who was looking at his lap. "Vantas, ya need ta eat. Yer body ain't strong enough to go without food for long. I don't wanna hear any bitchin' from Porrim if she finds out ya haven't ate. Plus, we need to put some meat back on dem bones." She grinned.

Karkat glanced at Dave, who nodded encouragingly again, and he extended a shaky hand and took a fry. He nibbled on the fry and Dave smiled. "There. That wasn't so bad, was it Kitkat?"

"Kitkat? That's fuckin' adorable." Meenah grinned wider, snickering.

* * *

_If they seem a bit OOC, I apologize. I'm not trying, but I'm not exactly sure how they would react in this situation. ^^' But anyway, they'll be just fine in a few chapters, haha._

_I also apologize if Meenah is missing any obvious fish puns._


	5. Chapter 5

A few weeks passed, and Karkat tried his best to heal without issue. Dave and Kanaya were making sure that he ate, because otherwise he would go long periods of time without eating. On hot days, Kanaya helped him either pick out light clothing or used make-up on his showing scars and let him go with short sleeps. In the end, Karkat would always bring a jacket just in case.

Band practice became one of his favorite classes again, and he always tried his best to keep his hands steady as he played the violin he hadn't touched in several weeks. However, police would still occasionally show up at his doorstep to ask questions. They would ask him questions about the suspects that raided his home. Whenever he said he did not remember, they would press further, almost to the point of making him extremely uncomfortable. Sometimes, he would be taken in for questioning rather than in his home, which made things even worse. One time was far worse than the rest, because it made him feel the fear that he had tried so hard to get rid of.

One day, he was brought in once again. As he waiting in the empty interrogation room, he fidgeted. Then, a very large man came in and sat down in front of him. There was something about him that he didn't trust. He straightened up instantly, looking at the man warily.

"Hello there. My name is Gaston Makara… Gamzee's father." His Cajun accent was thick, and now Karkat knew where Gamzee got it from. He gave a smile, but it was not warm at all. "How are ya holdin' up, boy?"

"F-fine… I'm fine…" He messed with his cup. "What would you like to know?"

"I think you already know what we want to know."

Oh god, not this again. Karkat sighed. "I don't know anything. I told you, I can't remember anything from that night-"

"Oh really?" Gaston raised a brow. "Nothin' from the nigh'. Any reason why?"

"I…" His mouth hung open as he tried to think and Gaston reached over and tucked his fingers under Karkat's chin and pushed his mouth closed.

"Ya should keep that mouth shut… ya don't know what ya migh' attract…"

Karkat stared at him in suspicion and newfound fear. His voice was starting to sound familiar for some reason. But he couldn't place where. He had never been over to Gamzee's house and had only seen pictures of the man.

"Are ya sure ya don' remember anythin'? Not a single thing about their appearance?"

"All… all I remember is that it was multiple people. I don't remember faces but I know they were all male. That's all I can tell you."

Gaston stared at him. "Are ya sure?"

"Yes… now if you'll excuse me, I have places to be." Karkat tried to be like his brother and stay curt and eloquent.

"Fine. Gam's here so I'll have 'im take ya home." He stood up and Karkat did as well.

As Karkat walked out, Gaston caught his shoulder. "Ya best be watching yourself, boy… they still migh' be lookin' fuh you. Ya don' know where ya'll find 'em."

Karkat nodded tensely. "I know."

"Good… hate ta see ya get hurt. If ya have ANY information on that nigh', let me know, okay boy?"

"Um… yes sir…" He started to walk away, giving one last glance at the detective.

His grin was now devilish… predatory.

His heart leapt into his throat and he hurried out. When he looked around, he saw Gamzee nearly immediately. "Oh, Gamzee thank God."

"Motherfuckin' best friend!" Gamzee put his arms around Karkat, laughing happily. "I'm so motherfucking glad ta see ya!"

He hugged back weakly. "D-do you think you could take me home? I don't have a ride."

"Motherfuckin' sure, bro!" He grinned. "Get on in!" He opened the door to his truck and let him in before getting in himself.

As they were driving, Karkat stared at the dashboard in silence.

"Motherfuck, bro. It's been a motherfuckin' long time since you've been this motherfuckin' quiet."

"I know, I know."

"Is somethin' on yer motherfuckin' mind?"

"N-nothing… nothing… just the normal stress, you know?"

"Yeah… though it's gotta be important enough that ya don't swear."

Karkat hadn't even realized it. "Jeezus, would it make you feel better if I call you asshat or something?"

Gamzee laughed. "Maybe, bro."

Karkat quirked a smile, then it faded a bit. "Um… I have a question. Your dad… what does he do?"

"Pop? He's a detective. Why?"

"He's been… grilling me lately over who k-" he swallowed hard and tried again, "-k-killed my dad and abducted me. But today… h-he kinda scared me a bit. It… it didn't really sit right with me. I-I don't want to cause problems with your dad but… i-it feels like he's going to get real impatient with me soon."

Gamzee suddenly got tense, which set off alarms instantly in Karkat's head. "Really now?" His hands were clenching the steering wheel.

"G-G-Gamzee?"

"Yeah, bro?"

"P-please don't be angry… fuck, you scare me when you're angry."

"Oh…" He tried to relax, but Karkat could still tell he was angry. "Sorry, Karbro."

He fidgeted the rest of the way home. As he got out, he gave a quick goodbye and got out. As soon as he shut the door, Gamzee peeled down the street, tires squealing. Karkat watched him leave in near terror.

"Karkat?" Kankri came out, looking concerned. "What was that? Was that Gamzee? What on earth does he think he's doing, disturbing the peace like that-"

"Kankri, shut up. I…" He swallowed hard. "I made him angry."

"I… I see…" He put a hand on his shoulder. "How'd the interrogation go?"

"They're getting more and more insistent. They keep fucking suggesting hypnotism but I'm not letting them do that freaky shit."

"I understand your reservations… come inside, you look like you could use some rest…"

"Fuck yes…" He walked inside with his brother.

* * *

Dave opened the bedroom door quickly. "Karkat?"

Karkat was sitting in the corner, sniffling and sobbing. He didn't even look up when Dave came in. His boyfriend came over to him and gently touched his hand. "Kitkat, what happened? Are you okay?"

"I… I…" Karkat was crying so hard he could barely speak. He was shaking violently, hugging his legs to his chest. "I…"

"Please, for fuck's sake…" He gently wiped a tear away. "Tell me what's wrong…"

"I…. I-I-I remember…"

"Remember?"

"Who killed dad!"

Dave stiffened. "Karkat…"

"P-please… y-y-you can't… you can't tell anyone… y-you can't… p-p-promise?"

"I…"

"Please!" he whispered. There was so much fear in his eyes, Dave just couldn't say no.

"…Fine. I promise, Karkat. Now tell me."

Karkat swallowed hard. "T-t-there were f-f-four of them… a-a-and one of them was… was…"

"Was who?"

He let out a sob before shakily choking out. "M-M-Makara. G-G-Gaston Makara."

* * *

_Don't worry, this won't be ending soon. There's than just Gaston in this game haha._

_And I apologize because I'm a freaking idiot and didn't realize you could update chapters instead of deleting and reploading even though there's a FREAKING BUTTON. Anyway, I know now and won't be cluttering up your notifications now. ^^'_


	6. Chapter 6

Dave never left Karkat's side after that confession. The only time he ever did was when Kankri agreed to keep an eye on him at night. When he got home one night, he tossed his bag on the floor and sighed.

"Hey bro." Dave looked up to see his twin brother, Bran*.

"Hey…"

"What's up? You seem stressed out, man."

He sighed. "Don't worry about it man… just…"

Bran chewed on his lip. "Karkat?"

"What gave you that idea, genius?"

"Hey, calm down jackass. I'm just trying to help."

"Well DON'T."

"What's going on here?" Dirk came into the room, looking between them.

"Dave's bein' a dick, like usual. Karkat probably told him some big secret that he's not supposed to tell anyone or something-"

"Shut the fuck up right now."

Bran looked at him and his mouth turned up a little into a faint smirk. "Twin's intuition strikes out again. Can I guess what he told you?"

"If you don't fucking shut your mouth, I swear to God-"

"Dave. In the kitchen. Now. Bran, you should go get ready for dinner." Dirk jerked his head towards the door and walked in. Dave begrudgingly followed. As soon as the door shut, Dirk turned to Dave.

"Strife?"

"Not in the kitchen dumbass, I just got it cleaned and dinner made."

"Then what do you want? I'm fucking hungry."

"Did Karkat remember that night?"

"I'm not going to discuss it with you. He made me promise not to."

Dirk sighed. "Sometimes we have to go to extreme measures to protect people. Even breaking promises. Jake is a police officer as well and he-"

"So this is for Jake, huh?" Dave scowled lightly. "The cops won't stop fucking bugging him and even when he TRIES to get some peace, your fucking 20's-slang Aussie boytoy tries to go through us-"

"DON'T talk about Jake like that, jackass. He noticed some odd goings-on at the police station PLUS Karkat has been getting more and more fearful every time he comes to the station. It took him fifteen minutes to get him into an interrogation room last time, according to him. Detective Makara-"

"Detective Makara? As in… Gaston Makara?"

"Yeah… why?" Dirk looked at him with a brow raised. "Did Karkat say something about him?"

Dave clenched his fists. "You fucker. You fucking tricked me."

"What do you mean? Are you saying that-" He stiffened. "Are you fucking serious?"

"…Is dinner ready or not?"

"No. No no no, we're not finished. You're telling me that Karkat was attacked and his father murdered by a COP and he doesn't want to say anything?"

"Will you shut the fuck up about it already?!" he snapped. "He doesn't want anyone to know! He's terrified, Dirk! You didn't see just how scared he was! It's not like we can convict him without evidence besides Karkat's freaking word on a night he was repressing in his mind! What if he fucking sends someone after him?!"

"I will personally ask Jake to be his bodyguard until we get this figured out. I can try to get Makara taken off the case."

"Do you REALLY have that kind of power? Or are you just trying to get me to convince Karkat so he'll spill all his secrets?"

Dirk stood straight. "We Striders will protect him at all costs. We will make sure that he stays safe. Alright?"

Dave chewed his lip hard for a long while before letting out a sigh. "I'll… I'll talk to him."

"Alright. I'll get in contact with Jake as soon as possible."

"Fine. Now can we eat?"

"Yep. Drinks are in the fridge, food's on the stove." He walked up to him and patted his shoulder. "We'll get through this. I know you care for Karkat a lot…"

He nodded slowly. Dirk gave him a half-hug before walking over to the stove.

* * *

"You… you did WHAT?!"

Dave sighed. "It was an accident, he tricked me. Well… actually, it seemed like he tricked me but he didn't and I accidently spilled it-"

"You PROMISED me you cocksucker!"

"Look, they just want to keep you sa-"

"You PROMISED me, it doesn't MATTER!"

Dave looked around. They were standing in the middle of a store, and several people were looking their way. "Babe, come on, don't-don't make a scene-"

"JUST SHUT UP!" He shoved him away and turned. Dave grabbed his arm and turned him around.

"Don't walk-"

Karkat smashed his fist into Dave's jaw and as soon as Dave released him, he stormed out.

"FUCK!" He held his jaw, groaning in pain. He forgot Karkat had a mean right hook. When he looked up and saw that Karkat had left, he looked around the store, frantic but trying his best to look as calm as possible. When he realized he wasn't in the store, he hurried out and pulled out his phone, quickly dialing his number. "Karkat?!" His phone went straight to voicemail. "Karkat, answer your fucking phone!" he snarled as he tried to call again. It was apparent that he had turned his phone off.

"Fucking dumbass," he growled. He nearly threw his phone, but tried to remain composed. Then, he called the next person on his list.

"Hello? Jake?"

* * *

Karkat grumbled, his hands shoved in his pockets as he stormed to the park. "Fucking asshole… how could he do that to me?" He slowed down a bit after reaching a bridge. The water, probably freezing in the new fall weather, coursed under him and he leaned on the stone rail, sighing. There he sat for a long while, trying to clear his mind.

After several minutes, he shivered from a newfound wind. He looked up to see the sun setting. "Fuck. I should be getting back." He backed up from the rail with a sigh.

Suddenly, a hand clapped over his mouth. He fought, letting out a shriek, though it was muffled. "Have a nice swim!" his captor snickered before he was thrown over the edge. He let out a scream before suddenly feeling nothing but freezing cold.

He was too panicked to curse himself for not being a good swimmer. Topped with heavy fall clothing and the rush of the water, it was hard to try and stay floating. He screamed for help before going under again. Ice cold water was starting to fill his lungs and it was getting harder to swim. Soon, he became numb, and the world slowly turned to black.

He suddenly felt a pressure on his chest and then felt water spill out of his mouth. He coughed raggedly and turned, vomiting water onto the ground.

"For fuckth thake… we thought we lotht ya KK…"

Karkat looked up weakly to see the almond-shaped, bi-colored eyes of Sollux. "S-S-Sollux…" he choked out weakly.

"Here, Kar…" Karkat looked over to see Eridan grab his trench coat. "Hold him up, Fef…" He was lifted gently and Eridan wrapped his coat and scarf around him. "Sollux, get your phone and call someone."

"Didn't you thee me call Dave, dumath?"

"Nevermind that, you two," Feferi cut in. "We need to get you two back in the car, it's glubbing freezing out here!" With that, she got up. "Sollux, could you carry him please?"

"Thure." He picked him up with a small grunt of surprise. "Damn, you're lighter than a fucking feather, KK."

"S-s-s-s-shut u-u-u-up…" He was shaking violently from the cold.

"Relakth… don't exert yourthelf… ED managed to thave ya before you hit the rockth… naturally we thent the captain of the thwimming team to get ya… and FF knew thee-PR** tho… you got really lucky today, KK…" When Karkat started to knock off, he shook him gently. "Don't go to thleep… not yet, anway…"

"S-S-S-Sol-"

"Be quiet, KK…" Eventually, they got back Feferi's car. Feferi turned on the car and cranked up the heater as Eridan got blankets out of the trunk. Sollux put him in the back seat and took a blanket. Eridan sat in the passenger seat as Sollux let Karkat rest his head on his lap.

"So Dave's on his way?" Feferi asked from the driver's seat.

"Yeah. He made a quick detour to be picked up by Harley'th brother. I think hith nameth Jake."

"The cop? Well, good…"

After that, they waited in silence for a long time. Sollux had just shook Karkat a little to make sure he didn't fall asleep as a cop car pulled up. "Thank fucking God." He opened the door and helped Karkat out. Dave nearly burst out of the car and ran to the other side.

"Oh my God, Karkat!" Dave cupped Karkat's face in his hands. "Don't you EVER do that to me again, understand?! You had me fucking worried sick!"

"Hey!" Sollux scowled at him. "Cut him thome thlack, he nearly died!"

"What?"

Karkat shivered violently. "S-s-s-someone… t-t-t-threw me o-o-off the b-b-bridge…"

"What?!" Sollux and Dave cried in unison.

"S-s-someone… p-p-picked me u-u-up a-a-and t-t-threw m-me i-i-i-into the r-r-river…" He shivered. "C-c-can I p-p-please g-g-go home n-n-now?"

Jake came over. "Let's get him to the hospital, chaps. Will you be coming with us, Sollux?"

"Um…" He looked back at Feferi, who nodded with a smile. "Thure."

"All right. You'll be in the passenger seat. Dave, you should be back with your boyfriend, mate."

Dave nodded and helped Karkat into the car, Sollux climbing in soon after.

* * *

_*Bran is actually Davesprite. I didn't think any actually sane people would name their kid after they're other one like that in a situation like this so I used that name, and it is Welsh for "crow". Correct me if I'm wrong, I won't be offended unless you're a jackass about it._

_**That was my attempt at Sollux saying CPR with his lisp._


	7. Author's Note

Alright, I have been getting a lot of questions lately about whether or not I will finish the story. I will in fact be finishing this and I have been working on the new chapter bit by bit. The problem is that I started college around the time I started working on the chapter and it's been nearly impossible to find the time to finish it. This chapter will have some sexy times so I can't just write it anywhere. So to repeat myself, I will be working on the story and I have every intention to finish it. It's just been hard and I appreciate you all being so patient.


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